Improvement in furnace-grates



G. WHITTIER.

FURNAGB GRATE.

No.52,236. l Patented.. Jan. Z3, 1866.

UNITED STATES CHARLES WHITTIER, OF ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN FU RNAC EGRATES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 52,236, dated Januarylz, 1866.

' Tovall whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES `WHITTIER, of Roxbury, inthe county of Norfolk and State of Massachusetts, 'have invented a new and useful Improvement in Furnace-Grates 5, and l do hereby declare that the following is a full,c1ear, and exact description thereot',whioh will enable others skilled in the ar-t to make and. use the same, reference :being had to the accompanying drawings, formingl part of this' specification, in which- Figure l represents a; plan or top vi'ewot' this invention Fig. 2, a sectional side elevation of the saine.

Similar letters of reference indicate like parts.

A represents a series ot' thin cast-iron Igratebars, the ends of whieh are supportedby the frame or hoop'B. This frame or hoop is'also made of east-iron, or it may be made of any other suitable material, and the grate-bars are retainedin their proper relative positions bya light iron rod, a, which runs through the cen- A'ter ot' the trunnions b of the grateffralne.

This rod may be made to passthrough holes in the grate-bars, or each grate-bar may be provided with a notch or recess, through which the rod passes. .By thus supporting the grate bars in the center While their ends are free the expansion takes place from the center outward, and thebars are not liable to warp or v crack. They may be made with safety less` than one-half the weight of the ordinary grate-bars, and they are much more durable. By making them thin and light they do not expand unequally, as the heat is diffused equally over the bar. A grate made upon this plan can be dumped instantly, it' required, whiehis a great advantage, espeeiallyon steam lire-engines.

Being extremely light and" open, my grate gives a great amount ot' air-space, and it can be used with advantage on locomotive, portable, and statiinary boilers. The hoop or frame vto supporta l,rate for a thirty-inch furnace is lnade from one and a halt' byhalt` inch flat iron, theptrunnions one inoh diameter, and the retainingrod three-eighths of an inch. The whole weight of suoli a grate Vis sixty pounds cast-iron.

I claim as new and desire to seere'by Letters Patent- Hanging a 'series of grate-bars loosely on one or more rods passing transversely through or under them, substantially as described, whereby the grate-bars are allowed a free expansion from the center.

CHARLES WHITTIER.

Witnesses:

M. M. LIVINGSTON, C'. `L. TOPLIEF. 

